50 BMG Reloading Info...

[Kali Komrade]

I'm going to start this thread as a source for tools, components, discussion, and reloading data for the 50BMG... Info to follow...

[dutigaf]

very cool of you ... as a 50 shooter, it will be fun to read and learn.

i dont load my own ammo. but hear all kinds of stuff about loading it. im sure you will be able to wipe out a lot of the rumors here.

[Kali Komrade]

Yeah I'll be finishing off about 200 rounds today for the next months shooting... I run into quite a few guys that are saving shells but have yet to take on the task of reloading the 50bmg. I'm going to post my reloading info, sources for tools etc. So hey maybe even some pics today... Well its time to head on over to the reloading bench I will catch you all later...

[Kali Komrade]

This is the current load I am running

210 grains +\- .5 from a Hornady 50bmg powder measure

650 grain bullet +\- 5

CCI 50bmg primers

5010 IMR 50 bmg powder

Anyone got a different receipe...I will post velocities for these reloads in the coming days... Heres some more reloading data that I got with my Lee Die Precision die set...

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m113/Dano561/BMGinfo.jpg

Here is Video of the Reloads being shot...
Video of 50 bmg test loads - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

[dutigaf]

very nice stuff. as we said my surplus stuff i shoot ranges uite abit in performance....

[Kali Komrade]

You know I don't know what the performance is yet as I have not chronographed it yet and I really need access to a range with 400+ yards... Hand loaded is usually always better than factory... I like using pull components because I don't competition shoot; however I will be loading some of hornady's AMAX bullets soon too... The idea is to get the most consistant group plus the guy I help load with has one of those bullet compensating scopes he wants to try to match...Most of the guys that will have reloading info will be guys loading for the 50DTC which is what 50 shooters in Calif. have had to switch to in order to purchase new 50 cals... Which gave birth to a new thought no one said you can't build a 50DTC MA DEUCE in Cali :twisted:

[dutigaf]

give me alittle more "rookkie" style info on the 50 bullet your using...

[Kali Komrade]

FYI that 210 grain load sucked it really needs to be amped up... Highest clocked speed was 2850fps on the chronagraph... Definetely out of range and will need changes. Next run will be set at 225 grains of IMR 5010...

Duti the bullet I am using is most likely a Winchester 650 grain Full Metal Jacket the + and - is an indication of how much each bullet weighs they can weigh a little more or a little less than the marked weight... The bullets were surplus from pulled ammo... To make a really anal match load guys search through piles of bullets to make sure they all match which means one guy would pull all the 649.9's to shoot and toss the rest in a pile for another shooter... How much of a difference this makes I don't know but will try it one day with 30 cal's thats for sure...

Sorry guys been MIA I still need to get some work done for a member of this board and haven't gotten to it... I guess when you bitch that you have no work and all of a sudden it pours in you can't complain...Just suck it up... :roll:

[Kali Komrade]

New info found I ran across a group with info on reloading the rifles and misc. 50bmg info will post it in the coming days...

[VonRundstedt]

I've just bought a complete reloading setup for my .50 too..the Lee kit, with the Hornady powder measure...factory crimp, dies, etc.

Anybody ever buy stuff from River Valley Ordinance?

[VonRundstedt]

BTW: the lightest load I've heard of in .50 was 215 gr...military runs 225-230

[50 Shooter]

Depends on what gun you're running, the M2 needs enough kick to function and a bolt gun just needs enough to get it out of the barrel.

I think someone posted on Biggerhammer that they got their M2 to function with 212-213 grs. of 5010.

Haven't heard of any problems with RVOW, there's also Pat's Reloading.

[Kali Komrade]

Hey guys I have been so busy lately doing artwork that I haven't had time to post the site I found on msn... Sorry for the delay

Site Deleted because of asshatism... :evil: If anyone wants the link I will email it to ya... But 50 shooters link is much better has pictures and is a link to the original authors content... :wink:

I don't know if I bought this primer pocket tool from the company your talking about Von, but this primer pocket tool someone recommended from 1919a4 really did the trick I will post picks of how well it worked hopefully before the weekend and a link as to where to get it... It really levels out the primer pockets well and makes it deep enough for the common CCI primers...Makes priming a breeze and although the pockets could still be swagged I like to leave them a little tight the tool does a good enough job...[/b]

[50 Shooter]

The problem with that site is the guy that put it up, he's a troll that's been run off more then one site for being an asshat!

I prefer this site for good reloading info, plus he's known to be one of the better people out there. http://www.hevanet.com/50shooter/

[Kali Komrade]

Okay so you would suggest deleting the link to boneheads site then... 50 shooter ... If the dude is that much of an asshat then we don't want to promote his stuff then...

[50 Shooter]

It's up to you, just thought I would pass it along as a warning. :?

[VonRundstedt]

Warning: Don't buy API bullets on Ebay.

I just got a box that is total junk. Looks like the bullets were pulled with vice grips.

[dutigaf]

wow, you guys are really starting to put the 50 info in here... thanks and its a good read. wish i had some to share back..

[VonRundstedt]

Once you have the 1919 disease, you need bigger and bigger fixes..so most of us went and built .50 cal or bought bolt .50 cal guns too...we just have to do it, we can't help it.

But there's some sort of artificial panic going on around .50 ammo, so even me with the deep pockets is going into reloading, because all the great ammo deals have dried up for .50 cal. I'll burn 'em all day long at $1.50-$2.00 per round, but when they hit $3-$4 for original USGI, I'm out.

If I knew where to get a 20mm flak 38 I'd probably be paying on it too..

[Kali Komrade]

Hey Von can you PM the guys Ebay user I.D. I would like to know... My buddy bought some pulled stuff from there and it had two pull marks on the side they were not that bad plus they resized them and the pull marks were 90% below the crimping area... We just used them for plinking...

Also Von your gonna need this tool that I got for seating the primers in your press don't start seating primers yet it'll bust the primer seater by Lee... I sent ours back to Lee and they sent me a new one right back... I think the tool is from one of the guys you guys mentioned I'll get the exact name today it makes the primer pocket deeper and more uniform... I don't use a swag yet as this little doo dad seems to take care of most of the problems with the primer pocket for getting those CCI primers seated right...

Deleted that link 50shooter the link you provided has better info on it... I haven't fully explored it yet...Looks damned good to me... :D

At the price of 50bmg ammo it doesn't hurt to reload whether we had a M2 or a bolt action it still pays...

[50 Shooter]

Two tools you'll want to pick up for .50 primer pockets, one is the K&M primer pocket uniformer and the other is an RCBS .17-.45 deburring tool. The RCBS piece does a good job on reaming the pockets to get rid of any military crimp. Of course you can go to the local hardware store and buy a reamer, just be sure you can chuck it up in a drill to make things easier. Another thing about the Military crimps, the newer brass has a type of offset ring instead of the old "stake" type crimp. As far as reaming goes, only remove enough material to get rid of the crimps. Remove to much and you could ruin the brass.

The marks you see on the projo's are from when they demilled the rounds, as long as you resize them you'll be okay. CH4D makes a resizing die for about $100, might have to ask if it will fit the Lee or if they make one that will. The die you want is the .5095.

[VonRundstedt]

I have the .510 Lee die for this press. A bullet with the usual amount of issues will push right through it with no excessive force, just a good hard pull. I tried it out on some ball M33 I had lying around, it's right on. Some outfit called "tcsafes" on Ebay is selling a bunch of .50 APIT bullets for pretty cheap...$135 / 1000, but LOOK OUT...I got a box, and they are truly JUNK. Whatever pulled these is no machine I've ever seen. BIG deep grooves on two sides and something that looks like two tooth marks, and it squeezed the bullet SO hard it's out of round by like .020
You couldn't get these through a sizing die with a hammer, and the gouges are so deep they'd never seat in a case. Do not buy these.

The seller has promised a refund and I send them back tomorrow...I'll let ya know how it goes.

[Kali Komrade]

Damn that sucks Von... Good Luck on that... Selling something that out of spec they should be shamed for trying... :roll:

Damn I still need to upload some pics... 12-14 hours shifts kicking my butt... :|

[VonRundstedt]

It seems like a bunch of APIT bullets have hit the market on Ebay this week, and I would steer clear of ALL of them. They all look like part of the same batch. Somebody bought a ton of demilled bullets and has distributed them, but they are so tore up, they're useless.

I have some hand-pulled bullets coming in from Bonaduce Inc. that look good, so I'll be loading in a couple of days.

[VonRundstedt]

Got bullets from Bonaduce today and they are perfect for pulled. No marks, round, on size, very nice.

I'm having trouble getting any response again from River Valley Ordinance..I need another 300 rds of primed brass and they don't answer the phone or voice mail or pages...I have a feeling that bad things are happening there.

If anyone has a line on a steady supply of sized clean ready to load .50 brass I'm buying. Primed or unprimed, they just need to be processed and ready to load. RVOW was getting $90 / 100 cases primed.

[50 Shooter]

Try HSM, they sell primed Winchester brass. It will cost you a little more but the brass is "new". Have you tried Pat's Reloading? www.patsreloading.com

[Kali Komrade]

Carp... I don't know what in the hell is going on but I can't upload my friggin pic's... I was going to post some pre and post pic's of brass that was primed with the use of the K&M primer pocket uniformer as well as a pic of the tool... This always happens to slackers like me wait till the last minute and get screwed...

That primer pocket uniformer has been the only thing I've needed so far to get good results from priming with the ram on the Lee Press... I got mine from Shooters-supply.com for 35.00 and they were a quick ship... The first primer ram I had in the Lee Press was broken from trying to jam those CCI primers in there now its a breeze no problems and by the way Lee replaced the tool I broke no charge...

I chuck the tool up in a floor mounted drill press running at 250 rpm and just take it very easy if the shell wants to spin I let it... I can't believe some of the primer pockets were so uneven...

Von your not going to prime your own brass?

I don't know if anyone else is making a separate Crimp die for the 50bmg but Lee is and its worth the extra 40.00 I found when trying to get a crimp in the Lee seating die it would sometimes allow the bullet to get lodged up inside the die and pull it back out of the shell... That was extremely frustrating...

[50 Shooter]

I don't even crimp the bullets, I can see doing it if you're using the ammo in a semi but not for a bolt gun.

You can also order the tools from K&M direct, they don't even charge you at the time of purchase! I couldn't believe they told me to send a check when I got them in the mail! You don't find many companies willing to do that these days. In case you need the number (717)292-3175.

[VonRundstedt]

Could someone please tell me why there is this sudden panic buying frenzy just because the Democrats won the friggin election? They're not even sworn in until January..everybody is selling out of brass and primers ferchrissakes. Surplus ammo is selling out everywhere. Don't these people realize that the Senate has only a ONE seat majority?
Just because Pelosi and Sarah Brady are best buddies everybody thinks its the end of the world. Pelosi has been talking her shit for years now, the sky hasn't fallen yet.
Of course the radical far left Dems want to make everything illegal. They always have. What's so different now? People are acting like its the end of the world.

[50 Shooter]

Yeah it's kinda funny how these people think it's the end of the world! I thought it was funny watching how fast they fell apart on Nov.8th. We live with it as a constant here in Kali and life goes on as usual, if these people are this weak I'm glad they don't live here.

[VonRundstedt]

I thought these were the big strong guys, the Free and the Brave I keep hearing about...

During the so-called "Clinton Assault Weapon Ban", I bought my first 12 Norinco AK47's(MAK90), and my first Romarms SAR3..so I don't get the big panic. Does a bayonet lug make it shoot better? I had a movie effects company and needed a dozen AK's. No problem.

The aftermarket US made stock and pistol grip to replace the gay looking thumbhole stocks worked out real nice too.

Pelosi can spew all the crap she wants, but the fact is they have WAY too much to do...there's going to be a dozen investigations at once, they may end up impeaching a President AND Vice President at once, and they're stuck in the shithole of Iraq Georgie got us into by not going in to win and conquer Iran and Syria like he was TOLD to. I don;t think pissing off the people is on the short list right now.

Meantime I can't seem to get any unfired brass!

[Kali Komrade]

You must remember here in California we did have to deal with her first she just loves to paper the walls with her whimsicle bans... How the hell did this turn into political thread...I don't think supply's are shrinking because of the election's I would say they are just running out to keep inventory low for end of the year auditing or we may just be running out of surplus products oh my... Oh yeah I saw an interesting post over on 50 cal sight interesting... in reference to 50 bolt work... We need a forum called watch dog Von or simply Ask Von... Don't want to get into that but it was fun for laughs some people.... :lol:

I give them a light crimp not a heavy one 50shooter... Plus on the milsurp bullets they have the cannelure (whatchamacallit...) on the Amax's this would not be as much of an issue... okay I'm outta here...

[VonRundstedt]

No politics, just stupid people. I talk to the guys that sell online ammo and between AIM, Bonaduce, Ammunitionstore, the buying frenzy is insane. Yes, they are letting inventory go down. But they all say that since Nov 8th, buying has exploded.

As for the bolt thing, Ed Guss is really turning into a scam artist, but not a very good one. He thinks it's a joke, but CID and FBI actually ARE interested in him now, so stay tuned for THAT shit when it hits the fan. I take it personally because the guy bullshitted me for 6 months with a bunch of sad disaster stories then changed the deal, but worse, I steered WG Tactical to his ass to get 2 bolts for their guns and he's fucked them too, so I'm not happy at all. Bad things are coming his way, and he's too stupid to know it yet.

I bought the Lee factory crimp die. It works beautiful.

[Kali Komrade]

Well... Your just telling it like it is...

I don't know whether you tried to do the crimp with your seating die but about every ninth round for me would get a bullet stuck in the seater on the die no idea why...

Think were going to chrono some of the loads today at the range will report back on consistency this time...

[VonRundstedt]

Nah, not worth the hassle. I learned to reload while I was in the Army over 25 yrs ago, actually had a job at a small ammo plant right after I got out doing police ammo in Miami, so I'm no greenie to reloading, just to these cannonshells we're doing! I like having the separate crimp die, even though it adds a step, because one hung up bullet wastes more time than that step ever would.

M2HB.net deleted the thread where I was going after Ed on the bolt scam, and I really don't blame them. It got really evil. I hear he's over on 1919A4 whining and making excuses now. Well, he's got a world of shit coming his way. I've done my part. We MUST self-police the gun community or you know who WILL.

[Kali Komrade]

More info for guys that are starting to reloading the 50bmg shell...

The case below was primed on the Lee Classic Cast press before the use of the K&M primer pocket uniforming tool... Yes I know its a crappy picture please bare with it... If you notice on the right side of the primer in the picture that the primer was not fully seated and slightly rolled over the outside of the primer pocket this was more of the norm verses the following picture below with the use of the K&M tool...

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m113/Dano561/DSC01474.jpg

This is picture of a case that has the primer pocket leveled and uniformed with the K&M tool...

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m113/Dano561/DSC01473.jpg

And finally a pic of the tool itself this is the cutting end of it and it can chuck up in a hand drill or drill press recommended...


http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m113/Dano561/DSC01472.jpg

Does anyone else have a safer way to use this tool other than a drill press right now...

Okay I know I'm a punk I have not chrono'd the latest loads yet... I have not had anytime to head out the range over the past month but I will try to work on it this weekend...

[50 Shooter]

Did you get a reamer like the RCBS one? One thing to help the K&M tool is to use a little case lube on it, I like Hornady's "Unique" case lube best.

[VonRundstedt]

http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/2861/ammo021pl3.jpg

Well, so far, after punching out / resizing, I use a chamfer bit to be rid of the old primer crimp, then clean the pocket with a small wire brush bit in a Dremel tool..zips all that pesky carbon right on outa there...

[VonRundstedt]

http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/2516/ammo017vu8.jpg

[50 Shooter]

That looks good Von, you only need to remove enough material to get rid of the crimps.

[VonRundstedt]

http://img376.imageshack.us/img376/1645/ammo019ym9.jpg

Not too bad so far....

[50 Shooter]

Have you ever gone to the Manatee Range? Do they let you shoot those there?

[VonRundstedt]

Yeah, my countersink bit is a sharp little bugger..only takes a light touch to zip out a lot of brass...plus I've found late issue LC cases are harder than the old WW2 stuff so care must be taken. The WW2 brass though takes a little deeper cut sometimes because that 3 point punch stake swells the primer pocket down a ways, the circular crimp used on modern shells doesn't take much at all to clear...

[VonRundstedt]

Don't know, I've only been to Hernando...my firing range in Florida is 10,000 acres of sugar cane fields..In Colorado, I have my range set up in a ravine on my ranch. I fire off Raufoss in there and nobody within miles to say a word..

http://img393.imageshack.us/img393/7783/july06asu4.jpg

[50 Shooter]

I see the guys on Biggerhammer talk about the range, guess they have a MG shoot there a couple times a year. Think they also do some regular .50 shoots also.

[VonRundstedt]

A lot of the ranges have machine gun shoots, but when it comes to the big military guns the get bitchy on ammo types. Safest thing to do is have a lot of M33 ball for those days. Most definitely won't allow tracers or APIT rounds, some won't allow steel core AP.

[Kali Komrade]

I was doing it like Von but I didn't have as much success as I have had with the tool from K&M and no we are not using a reamer yet...

[Kali Komrade]

I've really gotta get my sh*t together... Well we still haven't had the time to chrono the 50 loads we built (something happend to the chronograph :shock: ) However I did get a chance to punch some paper this past Saturday... I put a 5 shot group at 100 yards in a 1" group... Thats with the pulled components that I was discussing up further in the thread... Now if the damned tractor wouldn't have had rushed me on my shots because it had to drive across midrange I probibly could have gotten those SOB's in a half an MOA... Also we only sandbagged the rear and did not use a fine adjustment rear rest...

I know 100 yards is really weak to be shooting the 50bmg but thats the easiest way for me to dial it before heading out to a longer range... The upper we were using was a ALS 50bmg upper (Advanced Longrange Systems) I can tell you after punching paper he delivers on his guarantee of accuracy...

Optics we were using an ATN variable Manification Scope that has continued to hold zero for the past three times we went water bottle hunting...

[Kali Komrade]

New Primer Pocket too tested... Two thumbs up for the CH4 tool primer pocket uniformer... Its a much better built unit... It cannot be chucked up in a drill or a press but a grade 8 bolt can change that very quickly...

The first thing I noticed on the unit is the fact that the CH4 tool unit has a fluted cutter which is way more effective in removing the crimp than the K&M unit... The CH4 tool also has a fine adjustment screw to aid in setting primer pocket cutting depth... Although I believe that the K&M tool does live a smoother finish to the primer pocket bottom the CH4 definetely gets the job done... You can cleanly tell where the crimp has been removed when using the tool by hand... I don't believe we will have to chamfer the primer pockets anymore with this tool...

The tool I purchased was available in wideners reloading tools section listed under CH4 50 tools... :banana:

Back to the Bench :headbang: